nysepost.com

Trump to name Milley new Joint Chiefs chairman

Dec 08 2018

USA officials say President Donald Trump will nominate the Army chief of staff, Gen. Mark Milley, as his next top military adviser. The chairman is the highest-ranking military officer in the country and serves as the principal military adviser to the president.

Milley who holds degrees from Princeton University and Columbia University, is known to be liked by Trump. Past year he admonished the House Armed Services Committee for its inability to approve a defense budget, slamming it as "professional malpractice".

He also played a role in one of the Army's more contentious criminal cases.

He turned command over to Lt. Gen. Sean B. MacFarland in July 2014 after he was confirmed for promotion to general and a new assignment as the commanding general of United States Army Forces Command, Fort Bragg, N.C. Bergdahl was eventually found guilty, reduced in rank to private, dishonorably discharged and fined $10,000, but was spared any additional prison time. Previous chairmen served two two-year terms if they were re-nominated. If confirmed, he will be the first chairman to serve a single four-year term instead of a two-year term with the possibility of a second - a change which was made in the latest National Defense Authorization Act.

Dunford was nominated to the post in 2015 by former President Barack Obama. Milley tweeted that the Army "doesn't tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred in our ranks", seemingly a rebuke of Mr. Trump's comments.